Box Office Battlefield: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

The weekend warriors of November 21, 2014 includes The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, as well as the limited release of V/H/S: Viral. Every week, movie studios select candidates to enter the glorious battlefield for your hard-earned dollars, Box Office Battlefield is here to help you decide which movie(s) will take priority over the others and determine who will be victorious.

Last weekend, Dumb and Dumber To pulled one over on audiences, overtaking the likes of Big Hero 6 and Interstellar. I don’t believe stupid will win this weekend with Katniss Everdeen coming out to play. Panem forever. This is the Box Office Battlefield:

First and foremost, I very much dislike the book. Mockingjay is senseless dribble that beat me over the head with its on-the-nose political war game. However, because this is a film adaptation that can be reworked for the benefit of the screen, many of the faults that I have with the book are non-issues here. A lot of the dialogue is still too on-the-nose, but Francis Lawrence directed the hell out of this movie in order to reach a satisfying climax before an unsatisfying year-long wait for Part 2. The story and editing are tight and the pacing is pretty solid. Unfortunately not a lot happens in the first half of the story that makes Part 1 feel like an incomplete movie. And it is. It kind of wanders aimlessly because nothing is really resolved or set up for Part 2. It’s still far better than I could have hoped for. MATINEE IT! (Watch the trailer here)

After two successfully disturbing anthologies, the V/H/S series has succumb to its gimmick with the worst entries of shorts to date. Only Nacho Vigalondo’s story stands out amongst its lesser V/H/S: Viral brethren. I do applaud the filmmakers for actually trying developing a unique through line to attempt to make sense of it all, but the other shorts are too lackluster and drag the movie down. All of the other shorts in V/H/S and V/H/S/2 feel fresh and original whereas here in Viral, except Vigalondo’s, there is nothing memorable or fascinating about them. They aren’t even frightening to watch. WAIT FOR IT ON NETFLIX! (Watch the trailer here)

With no other new competitors taking aim at moviegoers wallets this weekend, the victory of The Hunger Games is very one sided. So as it stands, I believe the victor for this weekend shall be: